Do Epidurals lower the risk of PPD?

[karinothing]

Something you never imagined I would post! (sorry I can't post the article work doesn't let me C&P them for whatever reason).

www.yahoo.com/health/epidural-during-childbirth-can-cut-postpartum-92645729712.html

[karinothing]

Now, I had a med free birth and no PPD, but I credit a large part of that to DH being home for 3 months and me having a ton of support (and an ability to get more sleep throughout the day). I also didn't have a painful med free birth.

It doesn't sound like there was much controlling for outside factors in this study, so I am not sure how valid it is. I also would be interested to know if the women who went med free had always wanted to do that or were just doing it for the study(I think that would change things).

[Marmee]

I only had PPD once...when I attempted to go med-free & the epi wore off so I felt the transition & birth. But I also failed at breast feeding her & that deeply affected me...I'm pretty sure that was the main factor.

[cincodemayo]

epidural, no PPD. But I had a C-section in the end, so don't know if that counts. i wonder how many/what type of women were chosen for this study.

[Deleted]

I had PPD and an epidural, but I also had minimal support at first until I basically demanded that someone come and help me ( DS was 5 days old when H went back to work and I was alone with him for 12 hour days after doing all the overnight wakeups). DS also had MSPI and screamed constantly for the first 3 weeks so I was in rough shape to say the least.

I can see the corolation here though. I think if a woman has a med free birth where she feels out of control and not empowered by the sittuation ( I have more than one friend who was sent home from the hospital repeatedly due to not being in " active labor" only to arrive and have an unintetional med free birth in the hallway of the hospital) or if the hospital staff keeps delaying the epi for a a mother that is asking ( I had to demand mine twice the mid wife on duty had " STRONG" beliefs, I finally told her that as feminists we could both agree that her " STRONG" beliefs could not govern my BODY and to ORDER THE EPI. I can't imagine if I hadn't been a bitch and stood up for myself.

I think having a med free birth can be totally empowering if the mother is prepared for it and wants it, but otherwise a mother can feel like all control was taken away and she was in pain and alone with no help.

[shellbear09]

Yeah there must be other factors at play but I can see how a less painful birth and recovery would lower ppd.

I had an epi and no ppd but I still felt a ton of pain. It was definitely severe and different from many epi experiences I have heard. There is a lot more that contributes to ppd imo that have nothing to do with the birth.

[rupertpenny]

I had an epidural and no PPD, a though I did have regular old depression both before, during, and after birth.

Anyway, after skimming the article this seems like correlation over causation.

I'm also surprised only 50% of women who went med free BFed, over 70% of women who got epidural a. I would have guessed the opposite.

[badtzmaru22]

I had an epi with DD. I was not treated for PPD, but I may have had it a bit. All I could think was it wasn't nearly as depressed as I felt after having a m/c, so I must be ok.

[undecidedowl]

They also mention the correlation with breastfeeding. The finding is interesting, but I would be much more interested in seeing more factors considered like support at home, socioeconomic status, etc.

[matildasun]

There is a really interesting PPD study going on at Hopkins. I am on my phone, so no fancy links.
m.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/publications/dome/dome_march_2014/researchers_target_biomarker_for_postpartum_depression

They are working in a blood test that will identify the biomarkers for PPD even before a woman gives birth.

[biogirl21]

I had an epi and probably had a mild case of ppd that I didn't get help for because I'm bull-headed. My epi also wore off at the end and I felt all of transition and pushing. Or maybe it didn't and I just didn't know what it would feel like because I thought it wouldn't hurt with an epi but it hurt like a son of a birch.

[Velar Fricative]

Jul 24, 2014 8:41:46 GMT -5 rupertpenny said:

I had an epidural and no PPD, a though I did have regular old depression both before, during, and after birth.

Anyway, after skimming the article this seems like correlation over causation.

I'm also surprised only 50% of women who went med free BFed, over 70% of women who got epidural a. I would have guessed the opposite.

This was the part that surprised me as well.

As for the study, it's very interesting but until there are more studies like this I'm willing to bet it's all correlation, not causation.

And since we're sharing anecdotes, I had an epidural and no PPD.

[curbsideprophet]

I feel like there is a lot of missing information. I agree that knowing if the people who went med free planned and wanted to go med free could make a difference. They also talk about managing pp pain. Did those who went med free get pain meds after delivery? Did they get the same meds as those with the epi?

I did not have pain meds with either birth during labor and delivery. I did take pain meds after they were born. I did not have PPD with DD. DS is only six weeks old, but so far so good.

[Stingyshark]

I had an epidural, which either quit working or they turned off while I was pushing. That shit was for the birds.

Who knows if I had PPD, there was so much other shit going on after DD was born.
I think I'm suffering from something right now, but I don't know if it's just hormones or something else.

[speckledfrog]

From my anecdotal experience, I had the opposite. PPD and epidural with DS1, No PPD (so far) and no epidural with DS2

[MadamePresident]

I had 2 med free births and no PPD with the 1st and it too soon with the 2nd. But both births were quick. I don't know how I would handle being in pain for hours and hours. I also encapsulated which I know helped with recovery and on days I was feeling a little down.

[Deleted]

I dont know if I had PPD or not. Maybe? A mild case of it maybe. And I had an epidural with ALL THE DRUGS lol. but I also had a c-section with a rough recovery so that may have played a role. I did get a lot of sleep though.

[thebreakfastclub]

I feel like not getting the birth you wanted, whatever that means to you, could be the gateway to PPD.

I was down about having an unexpected C/S. It doesn't help that people move focus on to the baby, and sometimes aren't always checking in with how the mom feels.

I think that if the newborn period doesn't go as expected, that can contribute. I was lucky with that aspect, and was able to feel like myself again pretty soon after birth.

[meltoine]

I wonder how the relationship between epidurals and pitocin plays into this, since epidurals are known to increase rates of pitocin use, and pitocin is known to increase risk for PPD.

Anecdotes! I had PPD after my epidural birth and no PPD after my natural birth.

[curbsideprophet]

Jul 24, 2014 9:13:10 GMT -5 tulips said:

curbsideprophet I was offered ibuprofen and/or Vicodin after my med free birth. I took just the ibuprofen while at the hospital and for a couple days at home.

I took ibuprofen after birth as well. I was offered something stronger, but did not feel I needed it.

[badtzmaru22]

I didn't read the article, but did it say anything about getting pitocin after birth? I was on SUCH a high afterwards... not sure if it was just bc of HOLDING A BABY, or that, but I felt amazing.

I BFed as well, and honestly as much as it sucked, it did give me something to keep going

[curbsideprophet]

Jul 24, 2014 10:18:18 GMT -5 badtzmaru22 said:

I didn't read the article, but did it say anything about getting pitocin after birth? I was on SUCH a high afterwards... not sure if it was just bc of HOLDING A BABY, or that, but I felt amazing.

I BFed as well, and honestly as much as it sucked, it did give me something to keep going

I don't think the article mentioned pitocin at all.

[h]

I had two great epidural births and one really painful, largely unmedicated birth (worthless epidural inserted seconds before I was holding the baby--my bad) and no PPD with any of them. If anything, I had the hardest time regulating my emotions after DS1 but I think that is largely because he was my first, and I was overwhelmed, and also because I had the toughest recovery with him. I found tearing the shit out of my vagina and perineum and the associated pain to be more depressing than any other aspect of childbirth.

I will say that I found unmedicated childbirth to be somewhat scary and traumatizing, and I experienced more post-birth euphoria with my epidural births. But my recovery from my mostly unmedicated birth was a freaking breeze.

[Deleted]

I didn't read the article, but I would think that having a disappointing med-free birth or a bad recovery would contribute more to the PPD than just because they didn't have the epidural. Also, what kind of support networks did these women have?

I had an epidural and no PPD, but I also had DH home with me for 3 weeks and cooking/cleaning and helping with the baby.

[ilikedonuts]

My epidural labor and recovery was so much worse then my no pain meds birth (I was induced so it wasn't officially med free since I had pitocin). I did not have PPD with either birth, but if one birth was going to make me have it, it would have been the epi birth!

[starlily]

Epidural, no pitocin, breastfeeding difficulty, but no PPD (at least.not
yet with dd2).

Recovery both times has been pretty similar, although labor & delivery this most recent time was much easier.

[dulcemariamar]

I got the epi but it failed. I had PPD but I also had other huge life stressors during that time as well.

[lolo]

Jul 24, 2014 9:38:55 GMT -5 thebreakfastclub said:

I feel like not getting the birth you wanted, whatever that means to you, could be the gateway to PPD.

I was down about having an unexpected C/S. It doesn't help that people move focus on to the baby, and sometimes aren't always checking in with how the mom feels.

I think that if the newborn period doesn't go as expected, that can contribute. I was lucky with that aspect, and was able to feel like myself again pretty soon after birth.

Yes, this.

My doula insisted that it was birth trauma, not pain meds, to be avoided whenever possible.

That said, I had a med free delivery (and induction). That had been a hope of mine and I found it incredibly empowering. It was also an experience that brought my husband and me closer together.

I wasn't diagnosed with PPD but I did have some of the markers for it. Establishing breastfeeding through numerous obstacles and a tough recovery definitely contributed to those feelings.

[booboo173]

I did not have an epidural due to medical reasons ( knew this going in) and was pretty miserable throughout labor. Bf but had lots of initial difficulty and no ppd this far (6 mo)

[rugbywife]

My anecdote…PPD during pregnancy, epidural that didn't work, no PPD after delivery.